Week 2: Insights into our World - A Pathological System Gathering Question: What struck you from last week that you have been thinking about or share something you want to look at in the next few classes.
Some thoughts from the discussion: “I recognize the bleakness of the situation and I am not interested in it. I am interested in looking for signs of hope” “It is amazing just how quickly things can deteriorate in the large scope of things based on a few decisions” “The Idle No More Movement is an example where this comes to a head – how do we address a history of complex issues when sides are approaching with very different values, cultures and understandings of history.”
Close Reading of Selected Text About this section pg 15-16 “When humanity interferes with the Tao, The sky turns filthy, The Earth is depleted, The spirit becomes exhausted, Streams run dry, The equilibrium crumbles... When rulers live in splendor and speculators prosper While farmers lose their land and the granaries are emptied; When governments spend money on ostentation and on weapons; Indulging themselves and possessing more than they can use, While the poor have nowhere to turn. All this is robbery and chaos. It is not in keeping with the Tao.”
Pathological=disease, suffering, abnormal
Unmasking a Pathological System: We are sustaining a pathological system that creates poverty and inequality, a depleted earth, cancerous waste, unsustainable growth, distorted development, corporate rule, parasitic finance, limiting monocultures, and wealth for the few from a violent domination of the many. – the capitalistic diseconomy must change: Empire vs. Earth Community
Obstacles are 1. Systemic : Caring for the Earth: A strategy of Survival (CESS)pg 11 “limits of capacity”, pg 29 “rich and poor are being prised further apart” 2. Psycho-spiritual: CESS pg 12“new understanding of development”, pg 13 redefine systems to include the “duty of care and respect for all people that we have as humans”,
note: We have always struggled with these issues it’s just that the emergence of the current capitalistic neo-liberal ideology has intensified dramatically the scale of pathology.
Destroying Diversity (pg 52-53)
“civilizations in decline tend toward ever greater uniformity and standardization”
Our current culture is similar to “a pioneer community of weeds”
Power as Domination (pg 53-54) “We think in terms of conquering disease rather than promoting wellness; we speak of the survival of the fittest...rather than cooperation for mutual survival”
Pathology to Health (pg 55-62)
Pg 56 “Only the health and diversity of the web of life have real value. Activities that undermine this – including the destruction of life to accumulate capital – are evils, not goods. All activities is ultimately gauged by its long-term, enduring value” -> Question to ask when making a choice: does it improve health or diversity of life?
Assumptions and beliefs -> Adopting a New Perspective
pg 58 Empire/Industrial Growth society: Life is hostile and competitive, humans are flawed and dangerous, order by dominator hierarchy, compete or die, love power, defend the rights of self, masculine dominant Earth Community/Economics: Life is supportive and cooperative, humans have many possibilities, order through partnership, cooperate and live, love life, defend the rights of all/mutual responsibilities, gender balanced
Reflections/Discussion Comments:
“we must choose between empire and true economics and learn to recognize when we make those choices” “How do you not participate in systems of some degree of pathology in our society? A major issue is our retirement saving. Is there no 100% ethical way to invest or save money?” “Can we work to redeem the system?” “Perhaps what we need to do is work at helping the system evolve towards a better one.” For example, promoting the establishment of restorative over punitive justice practices in the court system works to help an outdated system evolve to more effective and holistic methods. Note that the authors suggest the entire cosmos is evolving towards deeper complexity, consciousness and community. Perhaps working with God’s vision for existence is actively living in a way to promote that type evolution.
Q: How can we do this in our personal lives? How do we value our economics, wealth etc.? What type of empire do we engage in on a daily basis? Do we try to subvert it with Kingdom values (or feed it Kingdom values that lead its evolution in a more Kingdom direction)? Is it working? Does that matter? What can we do to emphasize life-giving things over Empire?
Ex. Idol No More movement is in a way an example of indigenous groups rising to resist what they see as harmful empire as it effects their lives, the earth and hunting practices.
Perhaps the first step in developing an empire lens is establishing increasing awareness.
Pg 85“Awareness is the beginning of all resistance. We can only resist domination by becoming and remaining conscious: conscious of the self, conscious of the way reality is constructed around us, conscious of each seemingly insignificant choice we make, conscious that we are, in fact, making choices” ex. Are you aware of Aboriginal land rights, personal water usage, what happens with the money in your bank account when you aren’t using it?
Additional resources Pg 67 “anthropoharmonic...developing a profound respect and love for all life... such a shift...calls humanity to put aside the quest for acquisition, consumption, and domination,...instead seek out... security, love, community in harmony with the ...ecosphere” Pg 74 Human dependence on the hospitality of the Earth is total” Pg 79 we need a “renewed understanding of work. The aim of the human endeavour is no longer... accumulation, but rather the enhancement of the life process and human happiness...work must first and foremost be purposeful, something useful and necessary for the production or sustenance of life” Pg 80 “Nothing in the world \ is as soft and yielding as water.\ Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, \ nothing can surpass it.\ The soft overcomes the hard; \ the gentle overcomes the rigid. \ Everyone knows this is true,\ but few can put it into practice”
Closing Prayer Pg 156 Iona Abbey worship book, prayer c
"Eternal God, out of your great generosity you brought the world into being and gave it life. Then you gave it yourself, on the cross of human suffering. Such priceless, painful giving! Did you invite us here to show us that? Then show it to us once more, O God! Show us a different kind of world, a different cost of living, where the pain will not be eased by the money we spend on ourselves, but by the way we spend ourselves for others, and the way we value life. Eternal God, out of your great generosity, make us generous; bring us into being. Amen."
Gathering Question: What struck you from last week that you have been thinking about or share something you want to look at in the next few classes.
Some thoughts from the discussion:
“I recognize the bleakness of the situation and I am not interested in it. I am interested in looking for signs of hope”
“It is amazing just how quickly things can deteriorate in the large scope of things based on a few decisions”
“The Idle No More Movement is an example where this comes to a head – how do we address a history of complex issues when sides are approaching with very different values, cultures and understandings of history.”
Brief review of previous thoughts
See Week 1
Close Reading of Selected Text
About this section pg 15-16
“When humanity interferes with the Tao,
The sky turns filthy,
The Earth is depleted,
The spirit becomes exhausted,
Streams run dry,
The equilibrium crumbles...
When rulers live in splendor and speculators prosper
While farmers lose their land and the granaries are emptied;
When governments spend money on ostentation and on weapons;
Indulging themselves and possessing more than they can use,
While the poor have nowhere to turn.
All this is robbery and chaos.
It is not in keeping with the Tao.”
Pathological=disease, suffering, abnormal
Unmasking a Pathological System: We are sustaining a pathological system that creates poverty and inequality, a depleted earth, cancerous waste, unsustainable growth, distorted development, corporate rule, parasitic finance, limiting monocultures, and wealth for the few from a violent domination of the many.
– the capitalistic diseconomy must change: Empire vs. Earth Community
Obstacles are
1. Systemic : Caring for the Earth: A strategy of Survival (CESS)pg 11 “limits of capacity”, pg 29 “rich and poor are being prised further apart”
2. Psycho-spiritual: CESS pg 12“new understanding of development”, pg 13 redefine systems to include the “duty of care and respect for all people that we have as humans”,
note: We have always struggled with these issues it’s just that the emergence of the current capitalistic neo-liberal ideology has intensified dramatically the scale of pathology.
Destroying Diversity (pg 52-53)
“civilizations in decline tend toward ever greater uniformity and standardization”
Our current culture is similar to “a pioneer community of weeds”
Power as Domination (pg 53-54)
“We think in terms of conquering disease rather than promoting wellness; we speak of the survival of the fittest...rather than cooperation for mutual survival”
Pathology to Health (pg 55-62)
Pg 56 “Only the health and diversity of the web of life have real value. Activities that undermine this – including the destruction of life to accumulate capital – are evils, not goods. All activities is ultimately gauged by its long-term, enduring value”
-> Question to ask when making a choice: does it improve health or diversity of life?
Assumptions and beliefs -> Adopting a New Perspective
pg 58 Empire/Industrial Growth society: Life is hostile and competitive, humans are flawed and dangerous, order by dominator hierarchy, compete or die, love power, defend the rights of self, masculine dominant
Earth Community/Economics: Life is supportive and cooperative, humans have many possibilities, order through partnership, cooperate and live, love life, defend the rights of all/mutual responsibilities, gender balanced
Reflections/Discussion Comments:
“we must choose between empire and true economics and learn to recognize when we make those choices”
“How do you not participate in systems of some degree of pathology in our society? A major issue is our retirement saving. Is there no 100% ethical way to invest or save money?”
“Can we work to redeem the system?”
“Perhaps what we need to do is work at helping the system evolve towards a better one.” For example, promoting the establishment of restorative over punitive justice practices in the court system works to help an outdated system evolve to more effective and holistic methods. Note that the authors suggest the entire cosmos is evolving towards deeper complexity, consciousness and community. Perhaps working with God’s vision for existence is actively living in a way to promote that type evolution.
Q: How can we do this in our personal lives? How do we value our economics, wealth etc.? What type of empire do we engage in on a daily basis? Do we try to subvert it with Kingdom values (or feed it Kingdom values that lead its evolution in a more Kingdom direction)? Is it working? Does that matter? What can we do to emphasize life-giving things over Empire?
Ex. Idol No More movement is in a way an example of indigenous groups rising to resist what they see as harmful empire as it effects their lives, the earth and hunting practices.
A Christian Response to Empire
Christ of the Celts pg 2 “What is it we have forgotten about ourselves...”
“Where the empire lies, people suffer”, Cornerstone Issue 59 pg 17
"Challenging Empire: God, Faithfulness & Resistance" Cornerstone, Issue 60 pg 5 "Ten starting points for a spirituality of nonviolence and resistance to Empire"
"Living Faithfully in the Midst of Empire" 2007 report by UCC recommends “the development and application of an “empire lens”
Perhaps the first step in developing an empire lens is establishing increasing awareness.
Pg 85“Awareness is the beginning of all resistance. We can only resist domination by becoming and remaining conscious: conscious of the self, conscious of the way reality is constructed around us, conscious of each seemingly insignificant choice we make, conscious that we are, in fact, making choices”
ex. Are you aware of Aboriginal land rights, personal water usage, what happens with the money in your bank account when you aren’t using it?
Suggested reading for the week:
Read and think about the "Ten starting points for a spirituality of nonviolence and resistance to Empire" on page 5 of Cornerstone issue 60.
Additional resources
Pg 67 “anthropoharmonic...developing a profound respect and love for all life... such a shift...calls humanity to put aside the quest for acquisition, consumption, and domination,...instead seek out... security, love, community in harmony with the ...ecosphere”
Pg 74 Human dependence on the hospitality of the Earth is total”
Pg 79 we need a “renewed understanding of work. The aim of the human endeavour is no longer... accumulation, but rather the enhancement of the life process and human happiness...work must first and foremost be purposeful, something useful and necessary for the production or sustenance of life”
Pg 80 “Nothing in the world \ is as soft and yielding as water.\ Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, \ nothing can surpass it.\ The soft overcomes the hard; \ the gentle overcomes the rigid. \ Everyone knows this is true,\ but few can put it into practice”
Edward Burtynsky Landscape Photographs “breath taking examples of those landscapes created by massive technologies of extraction.” (cover quote from Edward Burtynsky – Quarries)
End CIV:Resist or Die
White Water: Black Gold
Jubilee partners: “With Our Own Eyes” by Don Mosley
Cry of the Poor:Cracking White Male Supremacy, Edward Loring, Open Door Community
Narrative Resistance, Live from the Hole: Resistance to the Colonial Dungeon by Alex Hundert
Closing Prayer
Pg 156 Iona Abbey worship book, prayer c
"Eternal God,
out of your great generosity
you brought the world into being
and gave it life.
Then you gave it yourself,
on the cross of human suffering.
Such priceless, painful giving!
Did you invite us here to show us that?
Then show it to us once more, O God!
Show us a different kind of world,
a different cost of living,
where the pain will not be eased
by the money we spend on ourselves,
but by the way we spend ourselves for others,
and the way we value life.
Eternal God,
out of your great generosity,
make us generous; bring us into being.
Amen."